A new year means a brand new bullet journal to set up. I have been bullet journaling for a year now and have been so surprised at how well the bullet journal system keeps my life organised. I have been using a bullet journal only and no paper based planner which is new for me, but I am loving having everything in one place. I have learned so much from my first year of bullet journaling and excited to practise and try new themed spreads this year.
One positive feature of a bullet journal is you can design the spreads and have the pages that are going to work for you. It is a completely individual planning system that can work best for you to plan your life and start getting you to be that organised and productive person. I am sharing with you my 2018 illustrated bullet journal set up to help inspire you.
The brand of bullet journal I am using this year is the Leuchtturm1917, I have brought them from both Amazon and Rymans. They range from £12.99 – £20.99 depending on whether you purchase their basic dotted journal or the journal they collaborated with the bullet journal system. The collaboration journal has far more bullet journal features and information which can be really beneficial if you are bullet journaling for the first time. If you find the Leuchtturm1917 are too expensive you can check out Stationery Island bullet journal planner that is super affordable and have high quality gsm pages that are bright white.
Here are some page suggestions to start up a new year bullet journal:
Calendar pages
In my 2017 bullet journal I used a future log layout for me to see the whole year but I decided to use a calendar at the start of each month so I have this to refer back to when planning and scheduling social activities.
New Years Resolutions
New Years Resolutions is something I have always done and they sy writing goals down means you are already more likely to achieve them. I like to have them in my bullet journal as a reminder.
18 Things Before The End Of 2018
Last year I did this 17 things before the end of 2017, so I decided to do the same this year. So I write down 18 things I want to do or achieve by the end of the year and they act as mini goals throughout the year in addition to my New Years Resolutions.
Birthday & Special Occasions Tracker
One of my New Years Resolutions was to be more organised and productive when it came to birthday gifting. I used a birthday and special occasions tracker to write them all down in one place and that I can refer to the list each month or the month ahead. This is a really helpful spread if you are terrible at remembering birthdays.
Habit Tracker
Habit Trackers are a great way to start new healthy habits and keep yourself accountable for achieving them. There are a variety of different ways you can record and track your habits but I used a table and would colour in the squares with different colours each day. It is a great way to track certain self care or organisational habits that you would like to have the reminder of.
A Positive Line A Day
Each day last year in my bullet journal I wrote one positive thing that happened or positive feeling I had and I have decided to carry that on this year. I love being able to look back and seeing positive highlights. When I am having a low day it is a great self care activity to read through previous days and they make me smile.
Blog Statistics Tracker
Each month I will be tracking my blogs statistics it is a great way to track your growth and your progress. It will also highlight any areas where you need to improve on.
To Do Lists
Writing to do lists are a great way to help you be productive with your time each day. I will write down a list at the start of each day with what tasks I will want to achieve. There is something so satisfying about checking a tasks off that list and you always feel like a complete boss when you achieve everything on your list in a day.
A Doodle A Day
I find a doodle a day very therapeutic. If I am feeling anxious doodling and colouring is a great way to focus my mind and relax any tension that I may be feeling.
I have listed below other page ideas you can use in your bullet journal:
- Savings tracker
- Bucket list
- Wish list
- Dream log
- Meal planning/food diary
- Expenses
- Doodle pages/title designs
- Party planning
- Birthday gift planning
- List of movies you want to see
- Places you want to visit
- Weight loss tracker
- Water log
- Exercise log
- Chore lists
- Self-care ideas
- Spending log
- Christmas gift planning
- Blog post ideas
- Blog statistics tracker
- Bill tracker
There are so many benefits of using a bullet journal planner to be organised and productive, here are 6 benefits you will see from using this bullet planner:
- It is customisable for your needs
- It keeps everything in one place where you can see it
- Promotes organisation
- It makes tracking long-term goals simple and easy to do
- It is great for keeping lists
- It inspires productivity
These are just a few ideas of what you can use your bullet journal for. If you are wanting more inspiration, I would definitely recommend looking on my Pinterest and Instagram.
Do you use a bullet journal? I’d love to hear in the comments.
I’ve been bullet journalling since December and I love it! https://craftycrusader.wordpress.com/2018/07/23/bullet-journalling-mid-year-review/